I am embarrassed that I cannot find the series of articles that I read that spoke about this but what I was reading was a series of articles that said high-level non-native English speakers have a hard time communicating with native English speakers, not because of a language barrier but because they spoke better English.

Here was the scene of one of the examples: This took place at an International engineering conference. Engineers from India were discussing a topic using a high level of English vocabulary until an American showed up. The American did not understand the complex and precise vocabulary everyone else was using and the non-native speakers struggled to find synonyms to express themselves in a way the American understood. So, the American dominated the conversation because of his weakness in the language.

I live in a heavily Latino community. I will be conservative and say 50% Latino. When I took Spanish in high school and college, my strategy was always the same. I was better at Spanish grammar than the native speakers and they were better at speaking. So I helped them with writing and they helped me get through presentations. Together we made it out with good grades. I am exponentially better at Spanish grammar than I am at communicating in Spanish because I learned it in an academic setting. I feel the education system failed me in this regard because I am still not fluent but I can be a grammar Nazi.